All Forum Posts by: Robert Hytha

Quote from @Joe Villeneuve:

Why do you suggest setting up a Blog and writing content for it?

My reasons for writing a blog are:
- developing confidence & writing ability
- putting yourself out there for potential partnerships and deals
- documenting your journey for your own reflection and growth (“deal diary”)
- owning your platform (posting on forums like this offers the same benefits but you don’t really own it - more potential in the future if you develop a website of your own)

I might be missing some other reasons but overall if you are a quick on the keyboard (another skill to develop), it isn’t a major time commitment and can certainly create opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be available. 

Quote from @Juwan Parker:

I think this is a strength and a great place to start! My boss/mentors used to refer to me as a j.o.a.t.m.o.n when I started working with them at US Mortgage Resolution (USMR) in 2011 and sometimes I felt like it was a bit derogative (especially when they emphasized the second part...)

Combined with your growth oriented mind-set and this foundation of knowledge - your career has tons of potential! Personally, I would recommend setting up a wordpress blog/youtube channel and start documenting your journey to learn & earn $5k per month. Start building an email list with a lead magnet or enticing call to action. If you're into it, creating content can be one of the highest leverage activities, you can meet tons of people simultaneously and invite serendipity.

In the beginning don't worry about optimizing the technical stuff, just get up and running and start writing/posting videos - develop the skill, build your confidence and create a network! The internet is virtual real estate - your real life RE experiences might as well supplement a digital counterpart. 

Also, I agree with Chris about note investing - tons of unique strategies just within this niche, even with limited capital: one of our mastermind members just took down a package of 5 NPL 1st liens for $8.5k (I facilitate acquisitions from USMR). Before you take the leap and actually deploy capital, learn the business on the inside by providing a service to note investors of due diligence data-entry, internet research or digital collateral file audits. 

Armed with your future law degree, you could be unstoppable in the paper business - keep on learning, growing & strategizing!

Hi Michael! While I wouldn’t recommend investing in mortgage notes if you don’t already own or plan on also owning a rental portfolio - notes are a great diversification to scale up cash-flow without the more management intensive responsibilities of owning hard assets. 

I think you should also own cash-flowing hard assets because while your mortgage note portfolio principal balance is paid down, the asset values (and rents) of your hard assets appreciate. A 30 year term on a re-performing note is a long time but will likely refinance early leaving you with more work to redeploy funds. 

So to answer your question, I invest in mortgage notes for outsized increases to the cash flow of my portfolio without the responsibility of more property management. And of course, the potential for diversification within notes is excellent since it is nearly location independent so we can work from home. 

Best of luck on your investing journey!!

Hi Bryan! Buying a mortgage note is much less formal than purchasing a property. Most closings happen virtually and unless you are insuring title at closing (rarely happens in notes), the only 3rd party involved would be an escrow agent to confirm complete collateral and release funds. 

I close over $10MM of loan sales per year and my buyers use escrow less than 10% of the time. Most often, escrow is used when dealing with a new counter-party that you haven’t built a relationship with. I have never closed a note sale in person over my ten years and 10,000+ assets transacted. 

Hi @Asia Jones! I'm not sure what capacity you will be "using" Seveney Mortgage Note Investments but I can speak to my experience selling notes to founder Chris Seveney. We have been working together for ~5 years and have closed many deals. Chris has purchased hundreds of loans and has always been a solid counter-party to work with.

Let me know if you have any other questions - happy to help.

When I got the notification that Bill had made a post I knew I had to check it out - he is the real deal. I've known Bill for almost 10 years now - what a great resource in this industry!

As for myself, I am a Full Time Rental & Note Investor. Most of my portfolio is rental properties, including a quadplex coin operated laundromat, several SFRs and many garage units. I have a geographically concentrated portfolio that I manage along with my wife Katharine.

On the note investing side, I own RPLs in my SDIRA and buy the occasional NPL. I would buy more 2nd position NPLs but rarely have the opportunity (in order to avoid adverse selection with my Trade Desk clients). All of the NPL sales opportunities I have access to go to the Trade Desk & Mastermind group first.

My primary full-time focus is on my company FIXnotes. Along with the Trade Desk, we offer a comprehensive free online course (How to Invest in Mortgage Notes), a regularly scheduled live industry show on YouTube (29+ hours of free video content) and a private Mastermind group (35+ members with a combined AUM of $100MM+).

FIXnotes business model consists of distressed debt consulting & portfolio management (250 NPL total active portfolio max) but so far in 2021 much more of my time is focused on creating value in the Mortgage Note Mastermind. We are building a State & County specific database for mortgage note related specifications nationwide, vendor rolodex, document template repository, over 50 case-studies, forums, a market-wide aggregated trade desk and more. 

Personally, my investment business model is buy & hold, leveraging historically low interest rates. I started in the notes business as an intern in 2010 & bought my first rental property in 2013 (long before I moved out of my parent's garage)

Hi Aaron, Dan Deppen from Fusion Notes posted a great YouTube video on the topic in 2018 and there is a comment from FIXnotes below the video with some updated information. Where to Buy Mortgage Notes

Q3 2020 update:
1. Granite - no longer in operation
2. Kondaur - make sure you build a relationship with a personal rep
3. FCI Exchange - no longer in operation
4. Paperstac - this is a multiple-listing website, make sure you vet each individual seller - your experience will vary greatly based on the counter-party.
5. NotesDirect - expensive listings, mostly retail pricing - deals appear to be vetted well though
6. Watermark Exchange - I have met Val Soltir as well, he's a great salesperson! Don't skip your due diligence on individual assets.
7. Brokers - vet your brokers! Make sure to pull the recorded assignment of mortgage from the county and confirm the relationship with your broker Dave Pollio (SNSC), Paul Banninger (NLEX), Jonas Roth (MountainView), etc
8. Banks & Hedge Funds - move up the food chain! Try credit unions & local banks. Direct, personal relationships are key (try searching Linkedin for Loss Mitigation, Asset Managers, etc)
9. Attorneys - search public records to find the most active attorneys in your market, relationships are key!
10. Other Investors - lots of online note groups and virtual events coming up, network!
BONUS:
11. DebtX
12. Loan MLS

;t

Hey Kevin! 

Agree with Bob - Josh is a great resource in this business.

There's also FIXnotes.com for a trove of free content (and a weekly hour-long YouTube show)

Hey Todd! Yes, you could hold a note for a few years and resell. Better yet - the borrower may refinance giving you a full payoff (assuming there is enough equity).

I would recommend getting comfortable with the Excel formula XIRR(), that will give you a much more accurate internal rate of return. Model the complete income stream to maturity using XIRR() then make tweaks (lump sum for remaining balance owed in year 5, for example) to review your return across these different scenarios.

I second that! Fuquan and I had a blast on a panel with Cathie at Mahir & Mark's Distressed Debt Expo in NJ last year.

First time getting to know her, she was a knowledgeable panelist and a great person all around!

Andrew McDannels on the other hand.... just kidding! Awesome guy as well :)